Technical Books on Forensic Science and Forensic Medicine: Anil Aggrawal's Internet Journal of Forensic Medicine, Vol.5, No. 1, January

Physician's Guide to Terrorist Attack, 1 ^stEdition, (includes eBook/PDA on CD-Rom) Edited by Michael J. Roy. Hard Bound, 7 " x 10".
Humana Press Inc., 999 Riverview Drive, Suite 208, Totowa, New Jersey 07512; Publication Date 27 October, 2003. xvi + 405 pages, ISBN 1-58829-207-X (Hardback, acid-free Paper), E-ISBN 1-59259-663-0. Price $99.50

No part of the world is now free of the risk of terrorist attack. Bombs, guns and explosives have historically been the terrorists' conventional weapons. We have moved into a different era where the threats of non-conventional attacks are much greater. It would seem likely that in years to come, most healthcare professionals may come into contact, directly or tangentially with the effects of terrorism. This book is aimed to provide (primarily) physicians and other healthcare workers with the information to respond knowledgeably and confidently to a terrorist event.

Dr Roy has assembled a team of specialists to produce a book divided into 4 main sections - Responding to an Incident, Biological Agents, Chemical Agents and Additional Considerations. The first chapter in Section 1 explores the lessons learnt as a result of specific terrorist incidents including the Oklahoma City bombing, the Tokyo sarin release, the 9/11 World Trade centre devastation and the US anthrax cases. In particular the need to have systems to confirm incidents, establish command and control centres, establish communications, determination of initial responders, control of volunteers and donations, care of victims (living and dead), monitor psychological sequelae, undertake criminal investigation, and deal with mortuary issues.

...Overall this book is an excellent information source and is to be recommended for anyone involved in primary, emergency or pre-hospital care, and for those who will end up treating victims of such attacks...

Other issues referred to are the need to control a) VIP visits and b) the media and are in my opinions key to ensure appropriate management of disasters as there will always be individuals seeking to make political capital out of such incidents and those in the media who will always be prepared to intrude on other person's grief and privacy for the sake of a good story. A chapter Hospital Preparation and Response to an Incident; and a brief but useful chapter on Physician Recognition of Bioterrorism-Related Diseases are practical and informative, but will need to be adapted for your own health system or work environment.

For me the two major sections on Biological and Chemical Agents were absolutely fascinating, each with a number of well-referenced reviews on the key potential agents that may be encountered. I could think of no major omissions from the list although the chapter on Riot Control Agents was rather brief and the reference to a UK publication from 1969 has probably been superseded by more recent data. The last section deals with radiation injury and explosive injury.

Overall this book is an excellent information source and is to be recommended for anyone involved in primary, emergency or pre-hospital care, and for those who will end up treating victims of such attacks. I have one niggle about this books and that is that I don't think it is now acceptable to produce a paper-based book - a part of which explores the clinical presentation of some illnesses - without full colour illustrations - which may in a single figure ensure a diagnosis is made correctly and expeditiously. I hope that Dr Roy ensures that this omission is remedied for the undoubted 2nd edition that will be required.

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Anil Aggrawal's Internet Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology

Volume 5, Number 1, January - June 2004

Book Reviews: Technical Books Section

(Page 9 b - Review by Jason Payne James, UK)